Apparatus for handling coal.



WITNESS PATENTED AUG. '25, 1908.

J. E. RICHARDS. APPARATUS FOR HANDLING GOAL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.5, 1907. RENEWED-JULY 16, 1908. v

' v 2SHEETS-SHBET 1.

INVENTOH James-E fiz'c cards.

A V x A TTOIINEVS,

.No. 897,014. PATENTED AUG. 25, 1908.

J. E. RICHARDS.

APPARATUS TOR HANDLING GOAL.

APPLICATION FILED was, 1907. RENEWED JULY 16, 1908.

- Y 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

- "IVE/"'03 t/ameai'. Bic/M2 1 A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT orrion.

JAMES EDWIN RICHARDS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO MARIAA.

BERRY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING COAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 25, 1908.

Application filed August 5, 1907, Serial No. 387,181. Renewed July 16,1908. Serial No. 443,839.

, will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to makeand use the same.

This invention relates to means or apparatus for handling coal or othermaterial and articularly to means or apparatus for load- 111g coal intoa barge, transporting it to any desired point, and for loading a ship orother vessel from the barge or unloading the barge into a pocket, car orother receptacle; and

v the object thereof is to provide an improved apparatus of this classwhich is simple in construction and convenient of manipulation, and bymeans of which a large saving may be effected in the; handling of coalor other material.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, ofwhich the accompanying drawing forms a part,in which the separate partsof my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters ineach of the views, and in which Figure 1 is a sectional view showing myimproved apparatus and the method of operating it and including a barge,a (look, a coal car and a derrick or similar device; Fig. 2 a sectionalside elevation of a part of the apparatus which I employ; Fig. 3 a planview of.

the top part of that portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2; and, Fig.4 apartial sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing forming part of this specification, I have shown at a apart of a dock and at b a barge adapted to convey coal or othermaterial, and. the deck 5 of the barge is provided with a longitudinalopening 1) around which is preferably placed a rim or wall 7)".

My improved means for handling coal or other material consists, in part,of a plurality of pockets 0 composed of top arts 0 which are hoppershape and preferab y rectangular in form, and the bottoms of whichareopen as shown at c in Fig. 2, and provided with 7 depending members 0which are of the same form in cross section as the top parts 0 but whichare larger at the bottom and taper inwardly and upwardly to the topparts 0 whereby a bottom shoulder a is formed on the top parts 0 of thepockets 0. The opposite side portions of the bottom members 0 of thepockets 0 are provided with hinged doors 0 with the opposite endportions of which are connected two chains (1 which pass upwardlythrough the bottom portions of the bottom members a of the pockets 0 andout through openings (1 in the sides thereof and up through the shoulderc at the opposite sides of the top parts of the pockets and throughkeepers d secured to or formed on the inner side of the o posite sideportions of the top parts a of sai pockets, and the separate pairs ofchains (1 are connected at their tops or up )er ends with hooks e whichare V- shaped in form, and one arm of which is provided in its endportion with a pivoted dog 6 and in practice, the pockets 0 are adaptedto be placed in the'barge I) through the open spaces 1), and the hooks eof one fpocket areadapted to engage the top thereo or of another pocketas clearly. shown in Fig. 4.

The second part of, improved apparatus for handling coal and othermaterial co1n prises a pocket receiver f adapted to receive thebottommembers 6 of the pockets 0, and the pocket receiver f, in the form ofconstruction shown, is larger at the bottom than at the top as shown atf and tl'lflbOttOnl thereof is provided with a central downwardlydirected discharge chute or pipe f around which is a shoulder f. Thepocket receiver f is of the same form in cross section as the de endingmembers 0 of the pockets 0 and is a so slightly larger in transversedimensions, and in theopposite sides of the top portion thereofare-{mounted transverse rods g having end cranks or arms g in which aremounted rods 9 parallel with the rods but on the outer sides of the't oppart of the pocket receiver f. Secured to the rods 9 are doors 72 havingupwardly directed extensions h? arranged, in the form of constructionshown, at an angle to said doors .h, and the doors h and the extensions7L2 thereof are braced on their inner sides by longitudinal ribs h Thedoors h are normally in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, inwhich the pocket receiver f is closed, but when one of the pockets 0 islifted out of the barge I), as hereinafter described, and deposited inthe pocket receiver f, the downwardly directed member 0' of said pocketpresses on the doors h and forces them downwardly and the upwardlydirected extension h of said doors fold inwardly and catch under theshoulder of the top portion 0 of the pocket and support it as shown insaid figure. I have also shown at i in Fig. 1, a derrick of any kind orclass, and at y' a coal car mounted on a track sunk into the deck a,and, in practice, I also preferably employ, when my improved apparatusis used for loading coal cars, a bunker 7c which is placed over the coalcar 7', as clearly shown in Fig. 1', and the derrick i is provided witha boom or arm 2' which may be manipulated or operated in the usualmanner, but said derrick in the details of its construction forms nopart of my invention, and, in practice, any suitable crane or similardevicemay be substituted therefor.

In practice, the pockets 0 are placed in the barge b and are filled inthe usual or any desired manner with coal, and in this operation thedoors 0 at the bottom of the downwardly directed members 0 of, saidpockets are closed and rest on the bottom of the barge. The derrick orother device i is provided with the usual cable 71 having a hook i andwhen it is desired to unload the barge or to load the car j, the hook iis connected with the hooks e'which are secured to the opposite pairs ofchains (l of one of the pockets 0, and the said pocket is lifted fromthe barge and moved into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,and lowered so that the downwardly directed member 0 thereof will enterthe top part of the pocket receiver, and when the said ocket is loweredthe doors h and the upward ly directed extensions h thereof will swinginto the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2, and the pockets 0 willbe supported by the upwardly directed extensions 71 of the doors h,andwhen the cable i or the hook i at the end thereof is lowered, thedoors 0 at the lower end of the downwardly directed member of the pocketwill be opened by the weight of coal in said pocket-and the latter willdrop into the bunker 7c and may be discharged therefrom into the ear 3'in the usual manner after which the pocket may be again raised by meansof the cable i and chains d, in which operation the door 0 will beclosed, and the pocket may be reconveyed to the barge and depositedtherein and another pocket lifted out.

In connecting the hook i with the hooks a, it is only necessary to passsaid hook "i beneath the arms of the hooks e in which the dogs e arepivoted, and the dogs 6 are intended to revent the accidentaldisconnection of the liook i from said hooks e. It will be understoodthat, when the doors 0 are closed, there is considerable slack in thechains (1 and the hooks e may be manipulated in any wayybut whenthepockets c are in position in the barge b the top parts of said 7pockets are close together and the hooks e l are suspended from the topportion of two of said pockets as shown in Fig. 4, but when the pocketsare out of the barge, the hooks 6 may be suspended from the top portionsof their respective ockets.

Althoug I have shown my invention as applied for unloading coal from abarge into a bunker or car, it will be understood that the same may beused for loading a ship with coal, and for many other'purposes, and inloading a ship with coal, the bunker 76 may or may not be employed, andany suitable support on the ship may be rovided for the pocket receiverf and into wliich the coal may be discharged from said pocket receiver.

The doors h when the pocket 0 is removed from the pocket receiver fassume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2'and thus preventdust from escaping from the pocket receiver, and said doors or theirextensions k thereof serve to support the pocket when the latter islowered into the pocket receiver as hereinbefore described.

The rods g and cranks or arms g with which said rods are connectednormally serve as weights to hold the doors h in their closed positionas shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and also limit the movement of saiddoors, and in practice, any desired number' of the pocket receivers fmay be employed together with any desired number of the bunkers 7c andany number of cranes or derricks in the unloadin of a barge.

Having fully described myinvention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an apparatus for handling coal or other material, a pocketcomprising a top ortion having a downwardly directed member of lessdimensions at the top than the bottom of the top portion, saiddownwardly directed member being provided at the bottom thereof withdoors hinged o the opposite side's thereof, and said doors being provided with upwardly directed extensions arranged at an angle thereto andadapted to engage the top portion of the pocket and at their oppositeends with flexible lifters which pass up through the socket.

2. In an a paratus for handling coal or other materizil, a pocket comrising a top portion having a downwardly irected member of lessdimensions at the top than the bottom of the top portion, saiddownwardly directed member being provided at the bottomthereof withdoors hinged to the opposite sides thereof, and said doors beingprovided at their opposite ends with flexible lifters which pass upthrough the pocket and are provided at their upper ends with hooks, anda pocket receiver open at the top and bottom and the opposite sides ofwhich are provided at the to with pivoted doors which extend downwar 1ythereinto and are provided with upwardly directedQextensionsQarrangedatan angle thereto and adapted to form supports for the top part of the0 ket when the bottom member thereof is inserted into said pocketreceiver.

3. In an apparatus for handling coal or other material, a pocketcomprising a top portion having a downwardly directed memer of'lessdimensions at the top than the bottom of the top portion, saiddownwardly directed member being rovided at the bottom thereof withdoors inged to the opposite sides thereof, and said doors being providedat their opposite ends with flexible lifters which pass up through thepocket and are provided at their upper ends with hooks, and a pocketreceiver open at the top and bottom and the opposite sides of which areprovided at the top with pivoted doors which extend downwardly thereintoand are provided with upwardly directed extensions arranged at an anglethereto and adapted to form supports for the top part of the pocket whenthe bottom member thereof is inserted into said pocket receiver, saiddoors being provided with means for holding them in a closed position,and limiting the movement thereof.

4. In an apparatus for handling coal or other material, pocketscomprising an open top part having a downwardly directed member theopposite sides of which are pro ided at its lower end with hinged doors,and flexible hoisting devices connected .with said doors and passed upthrou h the pocket and provided at their upper en s with hooks saiddoors being provided with upwardly directed extensions arranged at anangle thereto and adapted to engage the bottom of the top part of thepockets.

5. In an apparatus for handling coal or other material, pocketscomprising an'open top part having a downwardly directed mem* ber theopposite sides of which are provided at its lower end with hinged doors,and flexible hoisting devices connected with said doors and passed upthrough the pocket and provided at their upper ends with hooks, and apocket receiver open at the top and bottom and the top part of which isadapted to receive the downwardly directed member of a pocket, saidpocket receiver being provided at the opposite sides of the top thereofwith pivoted doors which extend downwardly thereinto, and said doorsbeing provided with upwardly directed extensions arran ed at an anglethereto and which are adapte to engage the to part of the pocket whenthe downwardly irected member thereof is inserted into the said pocketreceiver.

6. In an apparatus for handling coalorother material, pockets comprisingan open top part having a downwardly directed member the opposite sidesof which are provided at its lower end with hingeddoors, and flexiblehoisting devices connected with said doors and passed up through thepocket and provided at their upper ends with hooks, and a, pocketreceiver open at the top and bottom and the top part of which is adaptedto receive the downwardly directed member of a pocket, said pocketreceiver being provided at the opposite sides of the to thereof withpivoted doors which exten downwardly thereinto, and said doors beingprovided with upwardly directed extensions arranged at an angle theretoand which are adapted to engage the to part ofthe pocket when thedownwardly directed member thereof is inserted into the said pocketreceiver, said doors being provided with means for holding them in aclosed position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname in presence of the subscribing witnesses this 22nd day of July1907.

JAMES EDWIN RICHARDS.

